Snooty people

So I haven't posted in awhile because our laptop was acting out and we had to send it to the company to be fixed. So all we have is our iPod which is really annoying to type on but I figured I would suffer through it since it's still going to be awhile till we are reunited with our computer again.
This week has been a great one so far... I had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off which isn't good for our funds but it's been good to have a lot of time with Clifford. Monday we visited some art galleries which was really fun and in the first one we bought two prints! Our first pieces of art! It was a larger store and the workers were pretty snooty which made me want to change my mind and not buy anything. Since we weren't buying several hundreds of dollars worth of stuff we got crappy service and had to wait forever for someone to check us out!
Tuesday we went out again and explored Lake Oswego. They are a bunch of fancy pants too!! We ended up going to ikea and Clifford saw the magic of it!! He was won over by the 50 cent hotdogs! We didn't buy anything but got some good ideas.
Wednesday Clifford "went deaf" for a class project. It's been really difficult since I don't know much sign. I really sympathize with the deaf and loved ones of the deaf. It's so hard to communicate. Also we watched tv with the sound off and closed captioning which really shows how much sound plays a huge part. It's been great to walk in different shoes but I will be grateful in ten minutes when he can hear again!
I went to the temple with my dad again yesterday! It's been great having him come because it's really gotten me motivated!! I had a goal to go more since we live like 5 min away!
We've made friends with a family in our ward. They were new the same Sunday we were! They are a lot of fun and we've been having game nights with them on Sundays. They have a darling eight month old girl and she really is sooooo cute! We played the Beatles Rockband and she was singing (or making noise haha ) along with her mom and dancing! She just wanted to be a part of it and it was soo cute!
Well I think that's all we've been up to!

It's like that.

Well of course like any personal blog this one has fallen into the cycle of neglect, wherein the owner decides that taking a day or two from blogging wouldn't be to bad until those days turn into weeks and weeks into month. The guilt building, memories fading. It's like that. But i've taken the positive approach on this sucker considering it's value not to the outside world but rather to my family. On an immediate level it's a way for us to share a little of what's going on with our lives but I think it's real value is two fold, one; for our children and grandchildren this will provide a meaningful way for them to understand our lives at this point. There is no other generation that has been able to be so open with others and record so much as ours. It will only get better. The second point is that it acts as sort of a pensieve (nerd alert if you know what that is) culling through the choice parts of memories and emotions and being able to recall them with vivid details that time often robs from us.
So on with the show!
Couple things have happen like the mundane (I really love school, my classes, and the possibilities that this will have on our future) and the really traumatic. This last week I lost my job over at Portland Indoor and I really don't know why. I've taught kids in some kind of sport since I was seventeen. I won't lie but I am really confident in what I do and the abilities I have to control a class and carryout the lesson plan. Which is exactly what they said was missing. What puzzles me is that the previous week we talked about my progress and I felt that all week I had really done my job the way I thought they wanted it done but when I went into the office Saturday I got suckered punch. I still feel it today and I think it was a mistake, not that I am biased or anything. A couple things have been running through my head ever since including how I am going to provide as a husband (though we will be helped in the coming months my my financial aid return), bitterness at not apparently measuring up (to some kind of standard that I still don't understand), the desire to prove them wrong that I am better than what they saw, apathy at looking for another job (because I won't lie that this new open schedule leaves plenty of time for study and goofing off), fear at the current job market and somewhat narrow job experience. All in all, it's a steep learning curve but most of all i'm hopeful. I think if anything the gospel has taught me that in everything there is hope. Paths that we may think will lead to happiness and security will ultimately need to be abandoned for the way the Lord wants you to go. And with that i'm secure.
Our ward is still wonky after the redrawing of the stake boundary lines and the reorganization of the whole ward (they released everyone though each member of the ward is still carrying out their old calling until a replacement is found). Two weeks ago was the first meeting and then general conference hit leaving us in suspense as to what will happen Sunday. Right now all we technically have is a Bishopric, a Relief Society President, and a Young's Men president. Weird wild stuff.
One of the blessings of living in Portland has been the realization of how close we are to the Portland Temple. Today we went with Bill and took through some of the names from my mom's side of the family. Right now my great grandparents are ready to be sealed and I had the pleasure to take Papabuleo's name through. In time our whole family will be connected, welded link by link, into an eternal family.

The final tango

Summer is winding down and we have been really getting out there. Having landed the apartment in Portland and having a whole week off we've had the chance to really get out there. It's been a fantastic week.

We attended the Monmouth Stake Temple night and it was a beautiful time. Being able to again strengthen our faith and renew our commitment to living the gospel brings so much joy. And the amount of people who responded to President Petersen's call to fill the chapel makes me so proud to see the saints heed the Lord's servant. So many came that we were able to witness the selfless nature of brethren who when seeing that we were filled to capacity and there were women without seats graciously got up and offered their own. It was good to see that gallantry still has a place in the world.

OMSI was amazing. We took Tyler, Connor and Trent to see the museum (Trent being a first timer). It was funny because we had never been to a musuem together as a couple (the only other time was when I arranged for Brynn and I to go with Trent to Willamette University's art musuem, Trent acting as my beard) so Brynn didn't know that i'm a slowpoke when it comes to looking at things. Especially when most of the exhibits are interactive, I can spend ages in each section. So as the others ended up zipping through I was moving as slow as molasses. This obviously didn't sit well with Connor because as I was nearing the end of the second exhibit she ingeniously (I think having had seen this technique practiced with Karli and Bill) invoked the wife clause ("Brynn wants to see you") and off we went to the CSI exhibit. All in all it was a fantastic way to spend the day seeing ourselves do the weather on TV, making paper airplanes, flying into space in a Gemini capsule. I think we were there for four hours and I hadn't made it all over the museum.



One of the biggest rip offs was the State Fair. We each hadn't been for years personally because of bad experience working there with the carnies. Ten bucks to get in and no way we are going to pony up three to four dollars to get on the lamesauce rides, we ended up going back and forth up the aisles looking at people's wares and food. Ended up finding a new exhibit to the fair. It was a Sea Lion outreach program that held shows every day to educate people about sea lions and it featured two sea lions that had been rescued. The neat thing was that you could buy a ticket to get a kiss from the sea lions and sensing that this would be the one redeeming factor of our outing we each got a ticket. The kiss was so cold and wet but not as gross as you would think. Each dollar also went to funding the program and the sea lions themselves.

Farmers we are not...

Well it is official. Gazing into our crystal ball we have forseen a future in which the smell of cow poop is not part of our life... besides after cliff's in the bathroom.
We went to our friends pool party right next to a dairy... enough said.
I now teach the 5 and 6 year olds at our church in Sunday School. It went well besides the one kid wearing cowboy boots who was kicking the other teacher and eating people with his toy dinosaur. I've found in life that there are always the same kids in almost every group. There are the annoying ones, the quiet ones, the mean ones, the smart ones. As a whole the class went pretty well after we got the kicking kid calmed down. We learned about being accountable for our actions. At this age, they are kind of willing to listen to a lesson although snack is a must. So it was actually quite enjoyable. We also played a fishing game and a matching game which the kids loved.
Last Saturday we went to the Temple. Afterwards we went to eat at a place called The Montage. Its a cool, off beat little cajun restaurant in a random part of town. Clifford got alligator linguini which actually wasnt too bad.. it kind of tasted like shrimp! I got the old mac' which was delicious. Also, instead of giving you a box for your leftovers, they rap them in tinfoil and make crazy creations. Clifford got a swan and I got a flower!!
My mom and I went to a new cafe called The French Press. They serve coffee, smoothies, and crepes. I had no idea there were meat crepes. We got a cordon blue crepe and it was delious!! We highly recommened this place. It is on commercial across from the strip mall with jamba juice and Verizon.
Our lives haven't been too exciting lately but we thought we would update you!!!

'Gator

Last night we went to the Portland Temple and it was great. We often create barriers that are non existent and I was happy to see how really easy it was set aside a few hours and enjoy the blessings of the Lord's House.
Afterward we went to the Montage located under the Morrison Bridge which is a nice little joint which serves a cuisine focusing on Cajun food. I discovered a while back with some friends when I was living from Portland and it has long since been a favorite. Usually i'm a stickler for eating the Spold (spicy and old mac) but I was feeling adventurous and went with the Gator linguine. Not half bad. Not too spicy and really the Gator tasted something like shrimp but not to fishy. A little Portland Punch to wash it down (my only complaint is with the drink which aren't refillable) and a nice night was capped.

And so it begins....

Now it's time to get to the nitty gritty. This will be nothing like trying to get fast passes at Space Mountain. As it seems we will be tackling a mountain of things to do this week (name change, getting new phones, insurance... BORING!) We thought we would again thank those of you who expressed your well wishes and share a few more pictures from our wedding. Enjoy!

Clifford and Brynn

For all those who came....

And those we missed... Here are a few pictures from our sealing at the temple in Portland. We love you all.

Clifford